Indexing mechanism for bottle dispensing machines



April 17, 1951 A. D. BRUNDAGE 'INDEXING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE DISPENSING MACHINES Filed Aug. 31, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. H220 ,fl ,Brzz/ri j 2 Y/ara ,7 7'7dI/V J7 5'.

A ril 17, 1951 A. D. BRUNDAGE 2,549,163

INDEXING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE DISPENSING MACHINES Filed Aug. 31, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. E i. 11

A ril 17, 1951 A. o. BRUNDAGE 2,549,168

INDEXING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE DISPENSING MACHINES Filed Aug. 31, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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April 17, 1951 A. D. BRUNDAGE 2,549,168

-INDEXING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE DISPENSING MACHINES Filed "Aug. 31, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR. fizz/7 Z. Z/Z/IYJQJB.

Patented Apr. 17, 1951 I e INDEXING MECHANISM FOR BOTTLE DISPENSING MACHINES Alan D. Brundage, Detroit, Mich., assignor to F. L. Jacobs 00., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 31, 1946, Serial No. 694,284

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to bottle dispensing machines and, more particularly, to an improved indexing mechanism having a particular utility as a means for controlling the movement of the bottle carrying drum employed in suchdispensing machines.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved indexing mechanism of the above generally indicated type which is positive in its action, and reliable and efficient in operation.

Another object is to provide such an improved indexing mechanism for moving a drum or other element between a plurality of positions which incorporates improved means holding the drum in each of the indexed positions and preventing movement therefrom either by directly engaging the drum or in any other manner other than by means of the indexing mechanism.

Another objectof the invention is to provide an improved indexing mechanism for moving an element between a plurality of positions, which controls the movement of the element at all times with the result that there is no time before, during, or after the indexing operation, during which the element may be moved from one of said positions to another, inany manner other than by the indexing mechanism.

Other and more detailed objects will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings throughout the several views of which like reference characters designate like parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken front elevational view of a bottle dispensing machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a broken side elevational view of the structure of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a broken sectional view on a larger scale, of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2, taken substantially along the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3 and taken substantially along the line 4-4 thereof; I

' Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 are sectional views of the structure illustrated in Fig. 4 taken substantially Fig. 12 is an elevational view of the movable pawl plate and the parts connected thereto;

Figs. 13 and 14 are sectional views of the structure illustrated in Fig. 12, taken substantially along the lines 13-43 and l4l4 thereof, respectively;

Fig. 15 is an elevational view of the index plate;

Fig. 16 is an elevational view of the coin controlled locking mechanism;

Fig. 17 is a side elevational view of the structureof Fig. 16; and

Fig. 18 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 9, taken substantially along the lin l8-|8 thereof. V

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the bottle dispensing machine comprises a cabinet generally indicated at 20 which may be of any suitable construction, and the upper portion of which houses a generally cylindrical drum 22 in which are carried and stored the bottles; which are to be dispensed by the machine. For soft drink applications, the upper portion of the cabinet housing the bottles of soft drinks i preferably cooled by a refrigerating unit (not shown) which may be of any conventional construction and may be housed in the lower portion of the cabinet 2|].

In accordance with conventional practice, the drum 22 is rotatably supported in an inclined position by a shaft 23 extending axially thereof and having its ends supported at opposite sides of the cabinet 20, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The

' drum is so inclined to insure that continued operation of the machine will result in all [of the bottles carried by the drum being dispensed through the chute 24 in the front of the machine.

Also, in accordance with conventional practice, the machine is conditioned for operation by the insertion of a coin in the coin slot 26, and is operated :by pivoting a hand lever 28 which is operatively connected to the drum 22 through an indexing mechanism generally indicated at 3 0 and which will be presently described.

The coin mechanism may be of any of a wide variety of suitable constructions and need not be described in detail herein. For the present pur-. poses, it is suflicient to say that it includes means, illustrated in Figs. 16 and 1'7, for preventing the above described pivotal movement of the handle 28 in the absence of the above mentioned. conditioning by a proper coin. Referring to Figs. 16 and 1'7, this means comprises a shaft 32 to which the handle 28 is secured at its outer end; and three generally circular plates 34, .36, and 38 3 which are fixed to the shaft 32 for rotation therewith. The outer plates 34 and 38 are relieved to provide generally tangentially directed hooks 40,

and the central plate 36, adjacent the hooks 40,

shaft 32 and rides on the periphery of the plates 34, 36, and 38. From the above description, t

will be apparent that when there is no coiniinj-thecoin notch 42, rotary movement of the plates 34,

36, and 38, and, therefore, ofthehandle 28,"will be limitedby the engagement of the web' 48 of the i looking bar in the hooks 40 formed in the plates a 34 and 38, as illustrated in broken linesin Fig. 16.

However, when a coin, illustrated in broken lines pawl plate 52 and the movable pawl plate 56 for controlling the movement of the drum 22 to which the index plate is attached.

The stationary pawl plate 52 has a stationary circular peripheral portion 80 which serves as a guide for the movable pawl plate 56 during its pivotal'iiioyeml'ent-ias hereinafter described. The plate52"carries an upper'pawl, generally indicated at 82 (illustrated in Fig. :which is radially spaced so as to engage within the inner portions 16 .of the apertures 14 and which is disposed in thejposition illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 in which in Fig. 16 and designated 46, is carried in the coin I notch 42, movement of the handle 28 will cause the locking bar 44 to ride up around the periphery of the coin and passpover the hooks 40, thereby permitting full movement of the handle 28 and consequent rotation of the drum 22 by the operation of theindexing mechanism 30' mentioned above. a

This indexing mechanism 30 generally comprises an index plate 50 (illustrated in Figpl'5) secured to the lower end of the drum 22 centrally thereof, a stationary pawl plate 52 (illustrated: in

Fig. 9) supported in spaced relation to the index plate 50 by a cone 54 which surrounds the lower 1 end of the shaft 23"and'also serves to support the lower end on the cabinet Eli, and a movable pawl plate 56 (illustrated in Fig. 12) pivotally mounted on the shaft 23 intermediatethe index plate 59 and the stationary pawl plate 52, as illustrated in Fig. 3; For connecting the movable plate 56 to the handle 28, a link 58, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 12', has its upper end connected to an outwardly extending projection (it formed on the plate 56, and its lower end formed to provide a tapped opening therein for receiving the threaded upper end of a second link 62. The lower end of link 62 is connected to the outer end of a lever 64, the inner end oi which is secured to a trans versely extending shaft 66 for rotation therewith. The shaft 66 is coaxial with the shaft 32 upon which the handle 28 is mounted andi's connected thereto for rotation therewith by a readilyreleasable connection generally indicated at 6860 facilitate assembly. The lever 54 is so positioned on the shaft 66 that pivotal movement of the handle 28 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1 will pivot the outer end of the lever 64. downwardly and thus through thelinks 16'2and'58,will exert a downward pull ohthe sector plate Stand pivot it in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. ;For returningth'e sector plate 56 to the position there illustrated, a spring ID has its lower end connected tothe projection 60 on the sector plate and its upper end secured to a bracket 12 mounted on the cabinet 26.

Considering the above mentioned plates in greater detail, the index plate 563 is circular in shape and provided with a plurality of apertures 14 equidistant radially from the center of the disk 50' and equally spaced circumferentially thereof. The apertures 74 are arcu'ately shaped and have a relatively long, radially inner portion 16 and a relatively short, radially outer portion is communicating therewith, the ends of each of which portions are generally radially'dispo sed to provide surfaces on the index plate fi't 'adapted to be engaged by means carried byfthe stationart it is adapted to engage at the clockwise ends of the inner portionsylfi, as viewed in Figure 4, to prevent icounterclodkwise rotation of the index plate 50. A second or lower pawl generally designated .84 (illustrated in Fig. 11) is also carried by the plate 52 and spaced circumierentially thereof from the pawl 82. The pawl 84 is oppositely directed and is adated to engage within the inner portions 76 at the counterclockwise ends thereof, as viewed in Figure 4, to prevent clockwise rotation of thejindex plate 50. Intermediate theipawls 82 and :84 and adjacent its outer periphery, the stationary pawl plate 52 is formed to provide an arcuately extending slot determinating at itsclockwise'end as viewed in Fig-. 9, at a i tongue illifstru'ck outwardly from'the plate 52 in rected,"only the pawl 82, which is illustrated in Fig. .10; will be described in detail herein. A

.. pawlbar 9llis pivoted generally centrally thereof on a' pivot pin 92supported-ina pair of ears 94 integrally formed on a base 96 which is secured to the pawl plate 52 by a pair of screws 98. A spring I00 is coiled about the pivot pin 92 with one end engaging the base 9 6 and the other end engaging under the forward end of the pawl bar to urge it'into engagement with the index plate 50. The pivot pin 92 and the spring IUB' are held in their assembled'position by a cotter pin I02 extending through the outer end of the pivot pin; During assembly, the rear end I03 of the pawl bar engages the base 96 to limit the pivotal movement produced by the spring l00.

Referring to Fig. 12 the movable pawl plate 56 is generally L-shaped and has a hollow cylindrical portion I M at its elbow which serves to pivotally mount the plate 56 on the shaft 23. The larger leg 106 of the pawl plate is sector-shaped and carries a pair of pawls Hi8 and H0 onits inner face or face adjacent-the index plate 50. The sector-shaped leg [06 extends'radially outwardly of the stationary'pawl plate 52 and car ries on its outer face a pair of rollers! [2 which ally mounted on a transversely extending pin! l6 supported in a pair of tabs I It} struckjinwardly from'the sector'lflfi. A spring [20 similarto the spring of the 'paw1.82,"'urges one end "ofthe pawl bar l'l4 into engagement with the index plate and theoppo'site end-122 f the pawl bar is turned at right angles and projects outwardly through an opening I24 provided in the sector the" 5 plate 56. "During movement of the movable pawl plate 56 this outwardly projectingend I22 rides in the slot 86 in the stationary pawl plate during the first phase of the movement and later rides up on the tongue 88 at the end of slot 86 and thereby disengages the pawl I08 from the index plate. The pawl I I is spaced circumferentially-of the sector I06 from the pawl I08 and is spaced radially outwardly of the latter such that it engages in the outer portions Iaof the apertures I4 and is directed to engage at the clockwise ends thereof; The pawl H0 is generally similar to the pawl I08 but differs from thelatter inthat the pawlbar I24 does not extend through the sector I06 of the plate 56 but engages the latter to limit the pivotal movement of the pawlbar under the influence of the spring I26. The pawl H0 is the driving pawl and engages the index plate 50 at the clockwise end of the aperture portion I8 cluringpivotal movementof the handle 28 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure l.

The other end I28 of the L-shaped movable plate 56 is adapted to slide along the outer face oi the index plate 50, as is best seen in Fig. 3, and is so proportioned that it may move in between the pawl 84 and the index plate '50 as is' most clearly shown in Fig. 8. Referring to Fig. 3, the arms I06 and I28 of the movable plate 56 are offset as indicated at I30 and I32 respectively to dispose the arm I 06 adjacent the stationary plate 52 upon which it guides, and the arm I28 adjacent the index plate 50 alongwhich itmoves. "The above described "indexing mechanism functions in the following manner. When the drum 22 is in one of the plurality of indexed positions and the handle 28 is released permitting the spring I0 to return the movable pawl plate 156*to the starting-position, the various elements will assume the relative positions illustrated in Fig. 4.. With the various parts in this position, Figs. 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate the positions assumed by the pawls I08, H0, 82 and 8,4, respectively." From a consideration ofthese sectional views it will be seen that the pawl 82 is in position to engage the index plate to prevent counterclockwise rotation thereof as viewed in Figure 4, and that the arm I28 of the movable pawl plate 56 has moved between the pawl 84 and the index plate 50 thereby holding the latter pawl out of engagement. It will also be noted that the driving pawl H0 is in engagement with the plate 50 in readiness to drive the latter to another indexed position upon movement of the handle 28. The remaining pawl I 06, as will be seen from Fig. is in position to engage the index plate to prevent clockwise rotation thereof, again as viewed in Fig. 4, relative to the pawl plate 56. Movement of the pawl plate 56 in a clockwise direction is in turn limited by the above described engagement of the locking bar 44 with the hooks 40 as illustrated in broken lines in Fig. 16, the movable plate being connected to the hooks throughthe above described links 58, and 62, lever 64, shafts 66 and 32, and plates 34 and 38.

The machine is conditioned for indexing the drum to another position by inserting a coin in the coin mechanism which functions as described above to permit the handle 28 to pivot the movable pawl plate. During this movement, the drum is held against rotation relative to the movable pawl plate 56 by engagement of the driving pawl H0 and the oppositely directed pawl I08, both of which are carried on the plate 56. In the early "stages of this pivotal movement of the plate 56, the arm I28 carried thereby, moves from between the pawl 84 and the index plate 50 thereby permitting: the pawl 84 to engage in the next aperture I4 in the index plate and thus provide a positive stop when the drum has reached the new index position. Subsequently, the pawl I08 is disengaged by the cam action of the end I22 thereof riding up on the tongue 88. Referring to Figure 7, it will be appreciated that the pawl 82 will not interfere with this movement of the index plate 50 since during relative movement of the plate tothe right as there viewed, the portion of the plate 50 intermediate the apertures I4 will ride over the back of the pawl and press it out of the way in a ratchet-type action. When the new inwill therefore be seen that the drum and index plate are held against rotation in either direction by the engagement of the pawls 62 and 84.

When the handle 28 is released, the spring I0 returns the pawl plate 56 and with it the handle 28, to the positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 1, respectively. The various parts are then in the starting position described in detail above in which the pawl 84 is held out of engagement by the arm I28 and the index plate is held against rotation by the pawls 82 and I08 and the driving pawl I I 0 is again engaged as illustrated in Fig. 6, in readiness for a repetition of the indexingopei ation.

Whileonly one specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications and changes may be made without departing from the generic spirit of the invention and from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bottle dispensing machine, a drum, a shaft rotatably supporting said drum, an index plate secured to said drum, a stationary pawl plate supported in spaced relation to said index plate and carrying a pair of pawls, one of said pawls engaging said index plate to prevent reverse rotation of said drum, a movable pawl plate' pivotally mounted on said shaft intermediate said stationary pawl plate and said index plate and carrying a pair of pawls, means for moving said movable pawl plate between a first position and a second position for driving said drum in a forward direction, one of said last named pair of pawls engaging said index plate during the just described movement of said movable pawl plate and serving as a driving pawl, the other of said first named pair of pawls engaging said index a plate when said movable pawl plate is in said sec- 0nd position to prevent forward rotation of said drum, said movable pawl plate when in said first position being eifective to hold said last mentioned pawl out of engagement with said index plate, and means operable when said movable pawl plate is in said first position for preventing forward rotation of said drum.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said last named means includes the other of said last named pair of pawls and means normally preventing movement of said movable pawl plate from said first position to said second position.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein said last named means includes coin controlled means normally preventing movement of said movable pawl plate from said first position to said second position.

4.. The combination of claim 1, and spring means effective when said movable pawl plate is moved from said first position to resiliently urge said movable pawl plate toward said first position.

5. In a bottle dispensing machine having a drum, an indexing mechanism for moving said drum between a plurality of positions comprising an index plate connected to said drum for rotation therewith; stationary means supporting a first pawl anda second pawl for engagement with said index plate, movable means supporting a third pawl and a fourth pawl for engagement in said second position to prevent forward rotation of said drum and being held out of engagement with said index plate when said movable means is in saidfirst position, said third pawl having a driving engagement with said index plate. during movement of said movable means from said first position to said second position, and means including said fourth pawl for engaging said index plate when said movable means is in said first position to prevent forward rotation of said drum.

6. The combination of claim 5 and resilient means associated with each, of said pawls and urging the latter into engagement with said index plate.

7. An indexing mechanism for moving an element between a plurality of positions including a member operatively connected to said element and having a plurality of angularly spaced abutting surfaces formed thereon, means operable in each of said positions to engage said member to her and move said elementin the 'opposite'direction to another of said plurality of positions, releasable means carried by said plate and. normally operable to engagevsaid member to limit movement of said element relative to said plate in said. opposite direction, and means adapted. to engage said member to prevent rotation of said element in said opposite direction, said plate being eifective when in said first position to interfere with; said last named means and operating during movement from. said first position to said second position to free said last named means and subsequently disengage said releasable means. I

The, combination, of claim '7 and'means including a coin releasable locking mechanism for normally preventing movement of said plate from said first position to said second position. v

9. An indexing mechanism for moving an element between a plurality of indexed positions comprising an index plate secured 'to said eleprevent movement of said element in one direc- 4 tion, driving means including a pivotally mounted plate operable upon movement from a first position to a second position to engage said memment and having a. pluralityof angularly spaced apertures, a shaft rotatably supporting said index plate, a stationary pawl plate disposed generally parallel and in spaced relation to" said index plate. a movable pawl plate pivotally.

mounted on said shaft and movable between a first position and a second position to, move said index plate from one of said indexed positions to another, a pair of stationary pawls carried by said stationary pawl plate, a pair of movable pawls carried by said movable pawl plate, and means including one of said movable pawls oper: able'when said movable pawl plate is in said first position for preventing movement of said index ALAN D. BRUN'DAGE.

REFERENCES CI' IED The following. references are of record in th file of this patent: 1 7

V UNITED STATES .PAIEN'IS Number Name 7 Date 2,184,946 Ropp Dec. 26, 1939 2,235,147 fGarner Mar. 18,1941 2,321,136 Grau June 8, 1943 

